Editor's note: This article is based on an interview with Dr. Zhang Nan, a researcher in Comparative Intellectual Property Law from the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, China. The article reflects the expert's opinion, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

The trade war between the world's two largest economies keeps intensifying as the US imposed a new round of tariffs on 200 billion US dollars worth of Chinese imports this Monday.

The US has consistently been accusing China of intellectual property (IP) infringement and the tight restrictions on foreign investment.

However, according to Dr. Zhang Nan, a researcher in Comparative Intellectual Property Law from the China University of Political Science and Law, these accusations simply do not add up.

In terms of the country's IP protection, she pointed out that though China only started to build its legal framework for IP protection in the late 1970s, it has made enormous progress since.

She gave the example that Beijing IP Court can settle a case within an average of 4 months, and in regards to the administrative enforcement procedure it only takes several months as well. 

"Both domestic and overseas IP right holders can seek protection from judicial powers and administrative powers and both ways are effective," she added.

In comparison, "the first US copyright law - the Copyright Act of 1790 - only protected US citizens and residents and it was not until 1955 when the country joined the World Copyright Convention that it started to protect international copyright holders," she said, highlighting the fact that China has managed to achieve within 40 years time what the countries achieved in over a hundred years.

China joined the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 1980 following its Reform and Opening up policy introduced in 1978 and designed to open the country up to the outside world and invigorate its economy.

Since the policy, China has started to integrate into the world economy and had to adapt itself to the international norms and regulations. According to Zhang, China follows the spirit of the contract and has been more than willing to abide by the rules and purchase foreign technologies. 

Echoing Zhang's view, Peterson Institute for International Economics notes that China's payments of licensing fees and royalties for the use of foreign technology have soared in recent years, which was close to 30 billion US dollars in 2017.

In terms of the accusation concerning China's restrictions on foreign investment, Zhang Nan said the country has in fact been offering a string of preferential policies for foreign investors entering the Chinese market in order to boost foreign investment and keep benefiting from an open economy, which include tax free policies under certain circumstances both at the national and the regional level.

For example, last December, China's Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced exemption for foreign companies from paying provisional withholding income tax on profits they re-invest in the country.

On Monday China published a white paper on trade frictions with the US to counter the US accusations. 

The White Paper draws attention to the fact that as of the end of 2017, "there were approximately 68,000 US-funded enterprises in China with over 83 billion US dollars in actualized investment".

Zhang agrees that one would not be able to imagine such a significant amount of US investment in China if the business environment is truly bad for foreign investors. She also said that the current narratives surrounding China's trade practices are only one-sided, and countries that hold a deep-seated bias against China are advised to examine their own practices first.

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